Games tables have long been known and widely used. This includes foosball (otherwise known as table football, table soccer, and several other names), billiards or pool, air hockey, and many others. Traditionally, these tables are made from either a wood or plastic frame, where 4 walls are attached together using nails or screws, and 4 legs are then attached to each corner also using nails or screws to elevate the height. These tables are traditionally sold non-assembled (i.e. flat-packed), so the end user needs to assemble the table themselves after purchasing it.
This historical design requires significant time to assemble. It requires the use or hammers and/or screwdrivers and/or Allen wrenches. Lower cost and mass market versions of these tables are also plagued by quality and workmanship issues whereby pre-drilled holes may not align perfectly and cause great hardship to the end-user to assemble the table. Once assembled, these tables take up a great amount of space as typically the legs cannot be easily removed without significant effort to unscrew the parts. As these tables are often used by children, the presence of nails and screws also creates a significant safety hazard. Many toy safety regulations prohibit the presence of sharp edges and points, including after conditioning treatment whereby the product is often broken apart.
Games tables can also be sold in both table and tabletop formats. Table format implies the presence of a set of legs (typically four) like a normal table, so that the unit is self-supporting and the game play surface is sufficient elevated for access by players typically in a standing position. Tabletop format implies the product is placed on a separate table to play, and either does not include legs or the legs are of very low height.
Games tables are incredibly popular all over the world, and there is desire for an improved design which will simplify assembly, improve safety, provide improved compactness and storability when not in use, and provide increased functionality easily used in either table or tabletop format.
The present disclosure provides an improved construction for a games table, greatly simplifying assembly, creating more functionality, improving safety, and allowing for more compact storage. The presently disclosed construction may be used for foosball (table football) tables, billiards or pool tables, air hockey tables, and other similar games tables, as well as multi games tables.